Stan Wagon built a bicycle that has square wheels. It gives a wonderfully smooth ride over appropriate terrain. (Thanks to investigator Danny Lichtblau for bringing this to our attention.)
Month: January 2007
Kanzi and the marshmallow treats
Investigator Stephen Black writes: From the November 2006 issue of Smithsonian Magazine in which the psychologist Sue Savage-Rumbaugh describes the abilities of one of her language-learning bonobos, Kanzi: “Once, Savage-Rumbaugh says, on an outing in a forest by the Georgia State University laboratory where he was raised, Kanzi touched the symbols for ‘marshmallow’ and ‘fire.’ […]
Karen Hughes and an Ig suggestion
Suggestions for potential Ig Nobel Prize winners come from many sources. Here’s one from a January 23, 2007 editorial in the Manila Times: EDITORIAL Questions for Karen Hughes MANY Filipinos look forward to meeting Karen Hughes, the US State Department undersecretary for public diplomacy and public affairs, because this is her first visit to Manila, […]
Heads-up on Dr. Headon and what’s on a head
Scientists looking at mice may have discovered why certain people are hairier than others in what could provide clues as to the reason some men go bald prematurely. So says an August 30, 2006 Medical News Today article about Dr. Denis Headon (of Manchester University) and his work. (Thanks to investigator Jane Kohner for bringing […]
Gravity and a spy
It is primarily designed to be read by scientists involved in the search for gravitational radiation who are curious about the outsider who spends so much time spying on them. I try to explain who I am and what I am doing. So says Harry Collins about his pet project. (Daniel Davies and others have […]
Beauty Tips for Ministers
PeaceBang’s Beauty Tips for Ministers is the name of a blog. The blog is all about beauty tips for ministers. Here is one of them: While we’re on the subject of clean cutting, fellas, I’m seeing FOOD IN BEARDS at collegial gatherings. I am seeing UNTRIMMED GOATEES. I am seeing SIDES OF ‘STACHES THAT DRIP […]
Animating impossible objects
But is it possible to create an interactive impossible object, that is, an impossible object that can be viewed from any angle? This paper explores the creation of such objects on the computer. So say Chih W. Khoh and Peter Kovesi in their paper “Animating Impossible Objects.” (Thanks to investigator Mark Dionne for bringing this […]
Intellectual Distancing (Aegean and elsewhere)
At many universities, the departments keep a certain distance from each other. At one university this has always, and exactly been true. At the University of the Aegean, different departments are on different islands. The sociology department is on Lesvos, 90 nautical miles distant from the maths department, which is on Samos…. So begins this […]
Research into research into research
Research into research can be improved That’s the headline on a November 17, 2006 press release issued by the Karolinska Institute. The press release goes on to say: The methods used to evaluate the quality of research can be far more accurate and far-reaching, according to a new doctoral thesis on bibliometrics from Karolinska Institutet […]
Medical effects of television
A woman who spent ten days in hospital after suffering from severe migraines had to extend her stay by 36 hours after a television set fell on her head. Sharron Blake, 36, a mature student from Somerset was preparing to leave hospital when the TV, on an adjustable arm above her bed, crashed down. She […]